A stone’s throw away, the river Kotto flows slowly, waiting to empty into the Oubangui, situated nearly 200km further south on the border with DRC.

A little further on, on the ochre laterite road that leaves the small local stadium behind, Bria airport welcomes a few planes and helicopters, aircraft from private companies and humanitarian organisations.

Anonymous, emblazoned with the UN logo and painted in the colours of the Armed Forces and their Russian supporters from Wagner, they come to deliver their goods before taking off again for the capital. In Bangui, just like here in the Haute-Kotto, some live side by side with others, in the often open secrecy of their respective interests.

On the road leading to the airport, another building attracts attention. Badica, the name of the company to which it belongs, can still be seen written in hand-painted capital letters on its perimeter, under a fine layer of dust. The Bureau d’Achat de Diamants en Centrafrique is a household name in Bria, where most of the activity revolves around mining and diamonds. As a result, the locals have certainly noticed the changes that have taken place behind the gates recently and the fact that the premises have been taken over by non-French-speaking ‘whites’. In mid-2021, the Badica office was transformed into the Wagner group’s headquarters.

By the time the Russian mercenaries arrived, the place had been abandoned, or nearly so, for more than five years. Following the UN sanctions imposed on Badica in 2015 for illegal diamond trafficking, the company had ceased operations in Bria. “The management had left only the bare minimum there, a bit of equipment, under the surveillance of a few guards,” says a diamond dealer in Bangui. This allowed them to occupy the premises while waiting for better days.

Abdoul-Karim Dan Azoumi and his son Abbas, the heads of Badica and its Belgian subsidiary Kardiam, lost a lot of money. However, they were eventually removed from the UN sanctions list in April 2021, despite the US’ reluctance, as they mobilised their networks to convince international institutions of their good faith.

Nonetheless, there will be no better days ahead for Badica. While the UN loosened its grip, Wagner’s Russians, who had arrived in the CAR in 2017, were already in Bria. On 19 April 2021, the mercenaries entered Badica’s office unimpeded and kidnapped the two security guards. Situated not far from the airport through which men and goods pass, the building was ideally suited to housing the group’s headquarters in Haute-Kotto.

Alerted, the diamond company’s management was powerless to act. Three days later, by which time Wagner had already installed its men and equipment, a letter was sent to Prime Minister Firmin Ngrébada to complain about what had happened. Describing the situation, he was urged to encourage Wagner to vacate the premises so that the company could “restart its marketing activities”. The prime minister’s office remained silent.

A second attempt was made on 27 July, again in writing. This was also met with silence, until defence minister Rameaux-Claude Bireau, who is also President Faustin-Archange Touadéra’s nephew, finally decided to respond on 13 September.

‘We sell to whoever we can’

“Arrangements are being made to relocate [the Russian auxiliaries],” says the minister in a letter we managed to consult. Further down, he adds a request that might make one smile: “Furthermore, [I] ask that you observe patriotic patience until this process is completed.”

A year and a half later, Badica is still waiting. “There was nothing to be done. Wagner had already taken control,” says a player in the case who requested anonymity. “Several people suspected of conspiring with the armed groups were even tortured on the spot,” says a diplomatic source.

Was the Wagner group satisfied with this illegal occupation? In reality, the mercenaries have made the Badica premises one of the centres of their mining activity in the eastern part of the country, where joint security operations with the Central African army have increased since 2021.

“They have taken advantage of the military advances to gain a foothold in the Bambari, Bria, Nzacko and Bakouma areas, which are among the richest mining regions in the country,” says a group expert in Bangui. In the CAR’s gold and diamond triangle, the Russians have gradually established themselves as the only possible contacts for local miners and diggers.

“There was a phase of intimidation, during which they made them understand that it was dangerous to work without them. Then they made an offer: we’ll secure your business if you work with us and sell us your stones. These are mafia methods,” says a diamond dealer in Bangui.

“They are the only ones present on the ground, they have regional offices, the state’s support and connections in Bangui…Why shouldn’t the locals, who just want to sell their goods, work with them?” the dealer says. A farmer sums up the situation saying: “We sell to whoever we can.”

‘Beirut connection’

Once the diamonds have been bought from the diggers, how do the regional centres handle their export? Here again, Wagner benefits from the support of the Central African army, which is responsible for ensuring the stone convoys’ security as far as Bangui, the point of departure for foreign shipments. “Wagner has set up a company, Diamville, which itself exports diamonds. But this is only a small part of their business. The bulk of the smuggling takes place elsewhere,” says our group specialist in Bangui.

As with gold, wood and coffee – the first 20 or so tonnes of which Wagner bought in January – a certain Roman manages the diamond trading, acting as a relay between the regional centres and Bangui. Thanks to him, and after buying and transporting the merchandise to the capital, the mercenaries were able to join the export systemset up by the Nassours, a Lebanese family with a long history in Central Africa. “They realised that they couldn’t set up a new network from scratch, so they joined the existing one,” says our diamond dealer.

Aziz Nassour is the head of this influential family. The son of Ibrahim Khalil Nassour, a Lebanese Shiite businessman close to Hezbollah, this 40-year-old was immersed in the diamond trade from an early age. His father founded Diamonds Forever, based in Antwerp, in 1983. His sister Diana is married to Ali Saïd Ahmad, whose family also became rich by trading in Central African stones in Belgium.

“The alliance between the Nassours and the Ahmads is one of the biggest diamond smuggling networks on the continent, from Congo to Sierra Leone, and as far as Belgium, depending on the period,” says a researcher specialising in Central African trafficking.

Nassour was once suspected of financing al-Qaeda. In 2004, however, he was placed under UN sanctions and also sentenced in absentia to six years in prison by the Belgian courts for his role in trafficking so-called ‘blood diamonds’.

Nassour nevertheless continues to enjoy solid support in Bangui, where his proximity to Touadéra ensures that he is able to obtain public contracts and protection for his real business. “He is now the main exporter of legal and illegal diamonds from the Central African Republic,” says our researcher, who lists at least six companies linked to the businessman: Sahar Diams, Sahar Bi, Nassour Diam, Sahar Mining and Dayan Diamond.

A benevolent ‘special unit’

In the heart of Bangui, another man, an associate of Nassour – who only makes short visits to the CAR and is said to be domiciled in Zimbabwe – keeps the Lebanese network running. His name is Hassan Hijazi. Also from a family that settled in the CAR under Jean-Bedel Bokassa in the 1970s – his father, Ali Hijazi, was described at the time as an adopted son of the emperor – this discreet man has close ties to President Touadéra and his family as well.

He is the mastermind behind the Lebanese-Central African diamond operations, with which the Russians from Wagner are now associated. Under his orders, two men ensure the network’s day-to-day running: Nassour’s son, Moustapha, and his cousin, Bassam al-Ali.

They are very close and store the diamonds bought from local diggers in one of their properties in the capital. Located opposite the Air France office in Bangui, this residence, where Moustapha lives, is also equipped with a foundry that enables him to transform small quantities of gold into ingots. Bassam has his own office in the city centre, behind the Colalu company. From this headquarters, this trader, who built up his networks under former president François Bozizé before moving closer to Touadéra circles, transmits his orders to his collector, who supervises diamond purchases.

According to an industry insider, he is also responsible for transporting digging equipment to sites controlled by Wagner’s Russians. Reporting to Hijazi, ‘Bassam’ also maintains useful contacts in the police and gendarmerie, as well as in the ministry of mines and even the Unité Spéciale Anti-Fraude (Usaf), set up in 2009 to combat border trafficking. Interestingly, the Usaf was responsible on numerous occasions for ensuring that diamond shipments arrived safely at Bangui airport, according to an investigator who has worked with Bassam.

“Bassam is just one of the Nassour network’s tentacles, but he is undoubtedly the most important. He obtains all the permits he wants from the ministry of mines and benefits from unhindered contact with the authorities, which enables him to smuggle diamonds without hindrance and with guaranteed impunity,” says our researcher who specialises in Central African trafficking.

According to someone close to the government, al-Ali has a very good relationship with Interior Minister Henri Wanzet Linguissara and Bienvenue Zokoué, director-general of the police. Wagner quickly realised that it was in its best interests to join this network.

Heading for Dubai

The mercenaries had made a pact with the Lebanese, largely because the latter – and in particular Nassour and Hijazi, the latter whom controls several import-export companies – assured them that they would be able to sell their goods in Dubai, one of the most flourishing markets, and maintain their anonymity.

As the largest city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), financial experts have described it as a “money laundering paradise“, including for precious stones. “Dubai makes it possible to circumvent the traceability standards imposed by international diamond legislation,” says a gem trafficking specialist. Between 2015 and 2021, the volume of rough diamonds traded in the UAE jumped by 75%, making the country the sector’s world leader.

“The control system is totally deficient,” says one diamond dealer. “For example, all you need to obtain a Kimberley certificate is to have a stockpile of diamonds of legal origin. Then, because the stock in question is not sealed, you reuse it to obtain a second sesame, which you then use to launder illegal stones.”

This is just one of the techniques in the fraud arsenal. According to one Dubai insider, the most common technique is ‘mixing’: the importer combines stones of different origins, both legal and illegal, and then issues a so-called ‘mixed origin’ certificate that erases the history of the diamonds, which can then be resold elsewhere with the complicity of traders who are happy to turn a blind eye. “Dubai and its free zones are money-laundering machines. Everyone benefits. In Antwerp, which continues to pride itself on not buying blood diamonds, nobody wants to denounce the problem,” says our researcher.

Complicity and complacent silence

Does Kimberley have the means to put an end to this ‘mixed origin’ fraud? Even though it operates on the principle of unanimity among its members, the problem is that Russia has no interest in seeing this system come to an end. “Moscow and its allies are paralysing the process,” says our expert on Central African trafficking. “This greatly benefits Wagner and its Lebanese allies. It’s a very lucrative trade, including for certain states,” says our source. “If the Lebanese have become so important, it’s also because Iran needed to get around international sanctions and asked Hezbollah for help. Today, Russia is looking for the same thing.”

In Bangui, few optimists believe that any authority will be able to curb Yevgeny Prigozhin’s diamond business, which could be worth tens of millions of euros, say professionals in the sector. According to a number of witnesses, diamonds collected by Wagner in areas that are illegal under the Kimberley Process continue to be sold as far as Antwerp with the complicity of the Nassour networks and Dimitri Mozer, one of President Touadéra’s close associates. As the CAR’s consul in Belgium, Mozer is now responsible for organising the head of state’s public and private trips to Europe, but he also uses his networks to carry out more discreet and commercial tasks.

“Mozer, who became powerful under François Bozizé, is President Touadéra’s right-hand man. He manages his schedule in Europe, his private flats, and also his interests in the Antwerp diamond trade,” says a former minister. Mozer categorically denied these allegations when we contacted him and said that he is “merely an honorary consul”.

“The president knows the diamond system inside out,” says our previous source, citing Obed Namsio, the head of state’s chief of staff and former minister for mines, as well as Brigitte Touadéra. The first lady regularly travels to Belgium and Dubai, and holds a number of decision-making positions in gold and diamond mining companies and cooperatives.

The mercenary group also enjoys total impunity in the CAR. It got the government to ban filming and photographs from being taken at Mpoko airport, where the curious managed to figure out its activities from certain photographs. Flying drones over so-called sensitive areas has also been banned, particularly for the forces of the United Nations Mission in the CAR (MINUSCA). The Blue Helmets would undoubtedly have something to say. Present in the country’s main towns, particularly Bria, they are on the front line fighting against the Wagnerian diamond mafia, even though they have never officially denounced it.